The Effects of High-Tech Life on Children’s Bodies

Ergonomic experts Alan Hedge of Cornell
University and Karen Jacobs of Boston University
cite the risk of repetitive stress injuries to children
and adolescents from poor posture and long sessions
staring at screens; punching keys on computers,
laptops, handhelds, and cell phones; or hitting the
“fire” button repeatedly on video games.51 The
last-named problem has given rise to the term
“Nintendo thumb” in the medical literature as well
as warnings that game producers now include with
their products.52
Studies by Jacobs, former president of the
American Occupational Therapy Association, have
found about 40 percent of middle-school students
reporting musculoskeletal pain related to using
computers.53 She is currently studying whether the
time students spend playing video games and/or the
weight of their backpacks is combining with computer
use to cause additional problems.
Jacobs strongly recommends that parents and
teachers make sure students take physically active
breaks from keyboards or video games every 20
minutes, that they learn to check their chairs and
screen height each time, and adjust them if necessary,
and that they be taught the proper position for
typing to avoid strain. “We’re going to have a
whole generation of kids going into the workforce
who are hurting,” she predicts.